For years, First State Bank & Trust has supported the Lawrence Humane Society with their Lawrence Humane Community Card! For every transaction ran as "credit", the bank makes a donation to Lawrence Humane. Since the inception of this card, First State customers have raised over $153,000 for shelter animals in Douglas County!
This year, Lawrence Humane is celebrating our 75th anniversary! In honor of this momentous occasion, we're updating the design of the card, giving it a fresh feel and commemorating 75 years of saving lives and serving pets and people in Douglas County. And what better way to decide which animals go on the card than a good ol' fashioned photo contest?!
There are two categories – cats and dogs – and the winning animal in each category will be featured on First State Bank & Trust's new debit card design.
The Debit Card contest kicks off at 8:00 AM (Central Time) on Monday, July 6, 2026, and ends at midnight (11:59:59 PM Central Time) on Friday, July 24, 2026. Participation is easy – just choose your favorite picture of your dog or cat (or the one that shows off their personality best), upload it, and then spread the word to your family, friends, and coworkers, encouraging them to vote for your pet! The entry fee is $5 and each vote is just $1. Stay on top of the competition by watching the Leaderboard and encouraging your community to vote for your pal so they don’t fall behind!
GRAND PRIZE:The dog and cat with the highest number of votes in their category when the contest ends will be featured together on First State Bank's new debit card design!
Both winners’ parents will also receive:
A photo shoot of the animal to make sure they look their best for the card! Digital copies will be given to parents as a keepsake, as well as a framed photo. The photo shoot MUST take place between July 25 and July 29! All efforts will be made to make this as easy to schedule as possible.
A Lawrence Humane shirt
A $25 Visa gift card
A bundle of First State Bank logo merch
Bragging rights for having your pet on the new debit card!
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Ready to enter your pet's photo? It's easy! Just click on the 'Sign In' button to create an account, then upload a photo and tell us your pet’s name. The hardest part is choosing which photo to use!
Once your pet's entry is submitted, be sure to share the contest link with your friends, family, and coworkers and encourage them to vote! Every $1 vote not only helps your pet win, but also supports Douglas County’s only animal shelter. So encourage everyone to vote early and vote often!
Please check out the rules for contest details and contact us at marketing@lawrencehumane.org if you have questions. There is no limit to the number of pets you can enter, but know there's a $5 entry fee for each entry.
Ready to view our contest entrants and maybe cast some votes? Click on the ‘View Entries' button — the competition is going to be tough!
Rules
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EligibilityEntrants must be over the age of 18 at the time of entry. (Lawrence Humane staff and immediate family members of staff are not eligible to enter the contest.)
Your pet does NOT have to be adopted from Lawrence Humane to be eligible to enter the contest.
Entry fee is $5 per photo. You may enter as many photos as you want, but you must pay the entry fee for each photo entered.
Each photo may only have one pet in it. You MUST submit a different entry for each pet. Photos and submissions with multiple pets will be excluded from the contest without receiving money back.
Photos must be of dogs or cats only; people are not allowed in the photo. All animals must be depicted in a humane manner.
Any photo that is deemed to be inappropriate or that does not comply with rules will be removed from the contest.
- Your pet needs to be alive at the time of entry to be eligible.
Entering a Photo
Entry period is from 8:00 AM (Central Time) on Monday, July 6, 2026 and ends at midnight (11:59:59 PM Central Time) on Friday, July 24, 2026.
Photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi or greater).
By entering a photo, you warrant that you have the rights to use the photo and the entry does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party or violate the privacy rights of a third party.
Photos with professional photographer watermarks will not be eligible.
All photos must be submitted online to be eligible.
Photos of paintings, drawings, or other artistic renderings of pets will not be eligible.
All photos submitted become the property of the Lawrence Humane Society.
Voting
Each vote is $1. There is no limit to the number of times a person can vote. In fact, we encourage as many votes as possible!
Voting period begins at 8:00 AM (Central Time) on Monday, July 6, 2026 and ends at midnight (11:59:59 PM Central Time) on Friday, July 24, 2026.
Prizes
The GRAND PRIZE winners (2) will be the one cat and one dog whose entries received the most votes in their respective categories at the close of the voting period. These animals will have their photos professionally taken and utilized in the design of the Lawrence Humane & First State Bank debit card. The winner MUST be available to do the photo shoot between July 25 and July 29.
In the event of a tie vote in either category, the winner will be the participant with the earlier entry date.
All winners will be notified via e-mail. Winners will be asked to keep from sharing the news publicly until Lawrence Humane and First State Bank make a public announcement.
About Lawrence Humane
The Lawrence Humane Society has been serving the city of Lawrence and Douglas County, Kansas since 1951. Our mission is to nurture the human-animal bond by providing shelter, care, and advocacy for homeless and vulnerable animals, as well as resources for the pets and people in the community. Lawrence Humane cares for over 7,500 animals every year who come to the shelter as strays, surrendered by owners, and transferred from rural and lower-resourced neighboring animal shelters. Our life-saving rate is 95%, meaning that 95% of animals who enter Lawrence Humane have a positive outcome through reunification with owners, adoption, or transfer to another licensed agency. We are the primary pet food pantry in Douglas County, distributing over 106,000 lbs of pet food per year. Through our Crisis Pet Retention program, we help keep pets and people together hardship and crises. Learn more about Lawrence Humane by going to lawrencehumane.org!
About First State Bank
First State Bank & Trust is an independent financial institution headquartered in Northeast Kansas. It consists of seven bank locations found in Basehor, Kansas City, Lawrence, Perry and Tonganoxie. First State Bank & Trust has deep roots in Kansas banking dating back to 1893 and an equally long tradition of community service. Owned by the current group of local stockholders since 1979, the First State Bank & Trust team has made a commitment to remain independent and to maintain the spirit of excellence and service that is so important to the organization. Learn more about First State Bank & Trust and their Lawrence Humane debit card by visiting www.firststateks.com/Account-Services